


Blessings and Woes

by pistolgrip



Series: heavenbound, together [4]
Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-06-01 02:17:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15132896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pistolgrip/pseuds/pistolgrip
Summary: Esser's mind is clear as the Ten-Wolf Gun takes control of her body, and the time to her inevitable collapse is running out.[A rewrite of Esser's fates.Ch1: Lvl Cap +1Ch2: 5★ Max LvlCh3: 4th Skill]





	1. [Lvl cap +1] The Meek to Inherit the Earth

**Author's Note:**

> you can read esser's previous fates [here](https://gbf.wiki/Tien/Lore#Encounter%20I)!  
> this fic builds off the content until the lvl cap +1.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despondent at being removed from Stardust Town in her failed attempt to sacrifice herself, Esser wanders the Grandcypher listlessly before meeting the Ten-Wolf Gun.

**Scene 1**  
_Esser reflects on the burden she’d attempted to shoulder, as well as the failure of her actions to bring any sort of lasting peace to Stardust Town._  
  
_The Captain had stopped her before she could sacrifice herself, dragging her onto the Grandcypher and taking her away before she could protest._  
  
_On the ship, her days are filled with an anxiety that thrums throughout her entire body, filling her with thoughts of her brother, the children of the town, the mafia, and most of all, her strength—has her service been sufficient? Is there nothing more she can do for everyone?_  
  
_Her thoughts culminate to the point where she senses a voice calling out to her, seemingly from below the deck of the Grandcypher. She thinks she might be hearing things, but even when she isolates herself in a quiet place, the voice follows._  
  
_As her mind is already filled with other worries, another set of whispers is unbearable. Unable to stand it, she follows it down below the deck._  
  
**???:** You alone who have answered my call...  
  
**Esser:** ...The Ten-Wolf Gun?  
  
**Ten-Wolf Gun:** Correct, although it should be of no surprise to me that I am recognizable.  
You alone worthy of bearing me. You who understands the greatest sin of is violence, the one that warps the mightiest of men into weapons...  
Take unto yourself this power!  
  
**Esser:** Do you not see the irony in a weapon calling others weapons? In continuing the cycle you spend one turn abhorring and the next turn encouraging?  
  
**Ten-Wolf Gun:** You mistake my intentions. There is no one in the world that can be trusted. There is no family, no friends, no comrades. Only yourself.  
These lessons I have learnt myself on the Earth’s personal hell—the battlefield.  
  
**Esser:** ...  
  
_Esser's hand twitches for the gun on her own holster, but the gun speaks again._  
  
**Ten-Wolf Gun:** There is no trust, but perhaps we may find an understanding. Allow me to use you and to be used by you, and we will take down those most likely to abuse their power.  
  
**Esser:** If I were to agree, does that not make us the most powerful in their stead? How, then, do you suppose we live with ourselves with blood on our hands?  
  
**Ten-Wolf Gun:** How do we live? You’ve made the gravest assumption of our state of being once our job is done.  
  
_Esser draws her guns immediately and aims them at the Ten-Wolf Gun as it erupts in sparks._

* * *

 **Scene 2**  
**Esser:** I wield to protect the skies from your likes, who have no concept of consequences for their actions.  
  
_The Ten-Wolf Gun remains silent._  
  
**Esser:** Your cowardice is unsurprising. Although perhaps your spirit has been destroyed, instead.  
All for the better. Revenant weapons have never been good news.  
  
_She leans to pick up the gun, intending to bring it to the Captain so it can be disposed of._  
  
_But the second she comes into contact with the grip, her other hand flies to hold it against her own will, and the Ten-Wolf Gun shoots into her own leg._  
  
**Esser:** !  
  
**Ten-Wolf Gun:** Foolish child. If you cannot understand, you only stand in my way!  
  
_Esser hears the footsteps of other crew members towards the deck, as well as the Captain's concerned voice._  
  
_Her hands are forced by the Ten-Wolf Gun to point towards the only entrance to the storage room; as she feels her finger press down on the trigger, she ducks and rolls, shooting the bullet uselessly into the ground._  
  
_The Ten-Wolf Gun laughs._  
  
**Ten-Wolf Gun:** The other one worthy approaches. What will you do, you naive brat?  
  
_The Captain's footsteps grow ever closer._  
  
_Gritting her teeth, she sprints towards the exit out of the storage deck._  
  
_She runs off the docked ship as far as her legs can take her before she collapses._

 


	2. [5★ Max Lvl] The Merciful to Be Shown Mercy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After days of being on the run and evading discovery, the first Eternal discovers her just as the sun begins to set on the forest. The set is stage for the rest to fall, one after another.

_The pain is excruciating, but the gun feeds off her resilient sense of self-survival, prompting magical energy to flow through her and keeping her leg wound in stasis._  
  
_It has been days since she last ran off the Grandcypher._  
  
_The gun constantly wrestles control over the rest of her body and fails, but while her resolve never weakens, her physical energy begins to fade._  
  
_Suddenly, the gun fires off in a seemingly random direction, slinging her body forward with the abruptness of the motion._

* * *

**1A. Siete**  
_Instead of hitting the trees, she hears a noise like metal being deflected, followed by a chuckle._  
  
**Siete:** Man, you gave _me_ a scare!  
  
_Unperturbed in the slightest, the leader of the Eternals steps out from the brush, smile ever-present on his face._  
  
**Siete:** You know how long we've been looking for you? Captain of the Grandcypher comes to us in a panic, says—  
  
**Esser:** Stay back!  
  
_Her voice rips out of her throat as the gun starts to aim again, this time for Siete’s head. She wrestles it towards a nonlethal area, but even that is beginning to strain her._  
  
_Siete’s eyes grow cold at the sight of the gun, but his smile only grows._  
  
**Siete:** Aw, that’s not one of the guns I helped you make, is it?  
  
**Esser:** I said, stay _back!_  
  
**Ten-Wolf Gun:** This is the man who armed you?  
  
**Esser:** None of your business.  
  
**Siete:** Who are you talking to?  
  
**Esser:** Siete, stay back. This is the only warning I can give you.  
  
**Ten-Wolf Gun:** But what an opportunity!  
Isn't it best to destroy the one who created you as you are now—a violent child doomed only to repeat violence? You lack resolve.  
  
_The Ten-Wolf Gun fires and Esser wrenches it away from where it's aimed at Siete’s chest, down to the ground by his feet._  
  
_Sensing that she's not fully in control, Siete readies his sword._  
  
**Siete:** Ten-Wolf Gun. What is it you want?  
  
**Ten-Wolf Gun:** (So he knows who I am. All the worse for him.)

 **Siete:** Ah, of course you wouldn’t answer to me. Esser, what is it saying?

_Esser struggles with the effort of speaking longer sentences._

**Esser:** It wants to eradicate all. It wants a warped version of peace.  
It wants a pawn.

* * *

**1B. Siete**  
_Siete falls to a gunshot to the abdomen; from where he’s clutching the bullet hole, blood starts to leak from around his fingers._  
  
**Siete:** That’s—that’s quite the punch.  
I suppose that’s why it’s a Revenant weapon.  
  
_He grins, falling onto his knees._  
  
_Esser’s grip around the Ten-Wolf Gun tightens, beginning to shake._  
  
**Esser:** No... No! I didn’t—  
  
**Siete:** So you’re in there, after all. I thought you would be.  
Never met a kid as resilient as you. Bright, too.  
Hey, don’t get that look on your face! I don’t blame you none.  
  
**Ten-Wolf Gun:** No one with as much power as this man could ever use it for anything but his own eventual gains. Move on.  
  
**Siete:** I hope you don’t mind that I’ve called for backup, though.  
  
_Right as he finishes his sentence, a gold-tipped arrow whistles through the air and lands between Esser and Siete. She knows immediately that it’s a deliberate miss._  
  
**Esser:** I’ll only bring more ruin around me!  
Why would you summon them?  
  
**Siete:** Thought it would be nice to see everyone together again.  
Although these aren’t the most auspicious circumstances, are they?  
  
_Siete collapses onto the ground, breathing starting to labour._  
  
**Siete:** (Well, time to see how the others fare.)

* * *

**2A. Song**  
_As Esser is still distraught over being forced to shoot the man that took in her and her brother, the gun easily takes advantage and aims up into the sky._  
  
_The archer of the Eternals, Song, is up high—but Esser can still see her dodge and weave the gun’s continuous barrage of bullets. Her voice resonates through the air, a sharp warning delivering itself to Esser._  
  
**Song:** Esser! Drop the gun!  
  
_Still weaving, she comes closer and closer until she can read the expression on Esser’s face. She doesn’t realize that what’s on Esser’s face is not anger, but frustration and fear, until it’s too late—_  
_a bullet barely grazes her leg, forcing her to maneuver to where the Ten-Wolf Gun wants her._  
  
**Esser:** Song! This is your only chance, you have to stay away!  
  
**Song:** Who would I be if I left you behind? As an Eternal?  
As a friend?  
  
_The normally calm Song’s face is warped with concern and determination, firing arrow after arrow._  
  
**Esser:** As my duty to protect, I tell you that the only way to remain unscathed is to leave me to my own destruction!  
  
**Song:** That’s not true. That’s not true!  
Whatever this gun is, it’s not who you are!  
  
_Readying an arrow and charging it with energy, Song aims for Esser’s hands while she continues to evade bullets._

* * *

**2B. Song**  
_After reaching an apex in her flight to compensate for her strongest arrow, the Ten-Wolf Gun shoots Song down in a moment of exhaustion. Song spirals lifelessly to the ground, and Esser watches in horror as she rapidly falls victim to gravity._  
  
_She turns away, not wanting to watch her fall any longer._  
  
_Elsewhere, Song rights herself just before she hits the treeline. She flies to where Esser once was and where Siete still is and wordlessly lifts him into open grounds, on the edge of which they can see the rest of the Eternals are beginning to gather._  
  
**Song:** I only wish I could have spoken to her, but the Ten-Wolf Gun is certainly aiming to kill.  
  
**Siete:** Esser’s mind is strong. It’s in no danger of being shaken any time soon.  
But she always was a frail child, frailer than Quatre.  
For that reason, I worry about the toll that arming and continuously shooting the Ten-Wolf Gun, of all things, is taking on her.  
  
**Song:** We need to get back to the others as soon as we can.

* * *

**3A. Sarasa**  
_At her hands, another Eternal has been rendered useless. Knowing now that the rest of the crew is surely behind, Esser backs away from the scene, further into the forest._  
  
**Ten-Wolf Gun:** Running? Perhaps I overestimated you.  
  
**Esser:** Not running. Accepting responsibility. You must be destroyed, and I must follow. You were right, after all.  
  
**Sarasa:** Hey, Esser, you’re not usually this lame! Guns are kinda lame, but this is just weird!  
  
_Sarasa’s voice is far away, but it booms through the forest, as if there were nothing in its way._  
  
**Esser:** Sarasa?  
  
**Sarasa:** Come out and play! Why are you hidin’, huh?  
  
Before Esser can react, a shockwave of sound energy reverberates through the entire forest, aimed right at her. She ducks behind a tree and waits it out.  
  
**Esser:** Sarasa, leave!  
  
**Sarasa:** That’s no fun. C’mon, Esser! Get up in my face and fight!

* * *

**3B: Sarasa**  
_Sarasa makes good ground and gets within arms length of Esser, but enough bullets dent her armour that it begins to grow useless in vital places._  
  
_The onslaught of bullets only serves to make Sarasa more riled up, her attacks growing stronger, but they also get messier; as Esser comes to understand her patterns of attacking, so does the Ten-Wolf Gun._  
  
_Esser barely manages to aim the gun away from the vital points once again, but Sarasa’s legs are worse for the wear, and she goes down screaming._  
  
**Sarasa:** Man, this _sucks!_  
  
**Esser:** How can you afford to be so blasé when there’s a gun pointed to your face?  
  
**Sarasa:** ‘Cause you’re not the one pointin’ it.  
  
**Esser:** What?  
  
**Sarasa:** S’like, when a momma bear goes nuts tryna protect her cubs. I dunno. But you better knock it off, bullets really hurt!

* * *

**4A. Okto**  
_An unlikely figure emerges from behind Sarasa’s body, lying on the ground._  
  
_His figure is oppressive, but he does not raise his katana against the increasingly terrified Esser._  
  
**Okto:** Esser.  
  
**Esser:** Okto. We rarely meet. Unfortunate for it to have been when I have fallen so far. You have one warning—back off now, and perhaps more casualties can be prevented.  
  
**Okto:** I think not. The only reason you continue to stand here instead of with a matching bullet in your chest is because you ultimately have faith in yourself. Do you not?  
  
**Esser:** ...  
  
**Okto:** Your palms burn from the wielding of the gun, and yet, your tears serve as a balm for the atrocities it has committed under your name.  
This burden you do not have to bear alone.  
If not for the Eternals, then for those who you sought to protect by accepting this cumbersome weapon alone.  
  
_Okto’s voice washes over her, always steady, uncompromising. The words begin to soothe her, giving her mind a reprieve from the onslaught of messages the Ten-Wolf Gun inundates her with._  
  
_He steps forward, arm extended and palm up, as if it were that easy for her to hand over the gun._  
  
_Maybe it is. She feels the gun loosen in her grip as she steps forward—_  
  
_And she sees Sarasa laying against the ground again._  
  
**Esser:** I cannot. You know I cannot.  
So as long as their blood stains my hands, it is impossible for me to allow myself to believe I can be forgiven so easily.  
  
**Okto:** The forgiveness has already happened. Your atonement is ongoing.  
However, if you feel as though you need to finish the job, then do so quickly.  
I do not intend for this to be a long fight.

* * *

**4B. Okto**  
_Okto is strong and skilled with his katana, but the Ten-Wolf Gun has too much force behind it, fuelled by Esser’s constant fighting against its demands. She struggles to stay lucid, but remaining conscious only allows the gun to continue firing._  
  
_His wounds are not life-threatening, like those she had inflicted on the other Eternals._  
  
**Okto:** A shame, that I have been felled—but a blessing that our conversation has allowed you to maintain your energy.  
Do not lose your spirit, that fighting spark within you. It may be the gun’s weapon, but it is yours as well.  
  
**Esser:** Does that not make us one and the same?  
  
**Okto:** I believe you know the answer to that yourself. There is no need for me to tell you.

* * *

**5A. Six**  
_No sooner does Esser get the moment to contemplate Okto’s words does another presence whirl around her, blending in with the shadows._  
  
_The gun shoots, and while its aim is normally on mark despite Esser’s redirection, bullets are flying in all directions, so much so that Esser can’t predict where it’ll shoot next._  
  
_In front of her appears Six, who holds his claw under her chin, sharp edges hinting at breaking through skin with one wrong move. Her hands have immediately moved to point the gun directly at his forehead in return._  
  
_Out of the corner of her eye, she sees that Okto and Sarasa’s body are gone._  
  
**Six:** ...  
  
**Esser:** ...  
  
_Esser’s finger pulls the trigger and Six is gone again. He knocks her on her side with enough force that, normally, the gun she’d be holding would be launched from her hands. But the Ten-Wolf Gun stays._  
  
**Esser:** ...!  
  
_The Ten-Wolf Gun shoots at Six, and it pushes him back outside of his comfortable close range._  
  
**Six:** You...!  
Prepare yourself!  
  
_Six’s eyes are trained on the gun the entire time he charges in._

* * *

**5B. Six**  
_Six attempts to disarm by force, but continuously gets pushed outside of hand-to-hand combat range. Shot in the shoulder, he falls over onto his back, in the cold dirt._  
  
**Ten-Wolf Gun:** I suppose you won’t stay to finish this one off, either. You cannot defeat the world’s evils like this.  
  
_The Ten-Wolf Gun aims for Six on the ground, but he kicks up as one last attempt to knock the gun out of her hands and misses._  
  
**Six:** I had a reprimand prepared for you, but it seems as though you’re in no need of it.  
But I can tell you’re pushing yourself away.  
  
**Esser:** The Ten-Wolf Gun—  
  
**Six:** Forget the gun!  
There are people left to fight for you! Is that not enough?  
  
_Esser stumbles back in shock as the normally controlled Six yells at her, his words not entirely unkind._  
  
**Six:** Isolation is a punishment in itself, regardless of what happens to you during it.  
But whether it is worse for it to be self-imposed or forced on you by others, I can’t say.

* * *

**6A. Uno**  
_This time, Esser catches the figure that comes to take Six away. She’s beginning to become used to the muscle strain from the gun’s continuous pull on her._  
  
**Esser:** Uno, please. You’ve seen enough of what I’ve done tonight. It’s surely enough to warrant my death.  
Allowing me to continue like this would only continue to be of detriment to the Eternals.  
You’re peacekeepers, are you not? Then grant me your peace.  
  
**Uno:** Esser, you are not violent. This is not you.  
What you hold in your hands now does not influence the Esser we know.  
In fact, it is because you resist so bravely that we continue to fight, because we know you are still there.  
  
**Esser:** Nothing about this is brave! Nothing about my slaughter is worth redeeming!  
First, I could do nothing for my brother, and then I could do nothing for Stardust Town, and when I tried to protect the Captain, I was taken advantage of!  
Nothing remains but to let me rest!  
  
_Tears spilling out her eyes, she aims the gun consciously for the first time that night, right towards Uno’s head._  
  
**Esser:** The world is full of people seeking strength! If you cannot take me down, how can I possibly trust you to take down those any stronger than me?

* * *

**6B. Uno**  
_Now that Esser has begun to willingly align herself with the Ten-Wolf Gun’s words, her desperation pierces the bullets through Uno’s shields, leaving him leaning against a tree for support._  
  
_Even then, he manages to smile up at her, and she feels her tears sting hot against her face._  
  
**Uno:** That fiery spirit is why we like having you around, Esser.  
You may not be your brother, but the same flame burns inside you both, chasing away shadows.  
  
**Esser:** The light of the flame within me casts the shadows of your death.  
  
**Uno:** No one has died tonight, Esser. And we will work to make sure that doesn’t include you at your own hands.  
  
_Uno’s words drive a spike between Esser’s consciousness and that of the Ten-Wolf Gun’s, like the first lightning bolt of an impending storm, stopping her from completely succumbing. At the words, she feels hope flash hot up her spine, while the Ten-Wolf Gun roars in rage._  
  
**Ten-Wolf Gun:** Impossible! They should have been _dead!_  
  
**Esser:** Uno, run!  
  
_The Ten-Wolf Gun starts shooting again in frustration, but Uno throws up one last defense and runs off for backup._

* * *

**7A. Nio**  
_The events of the night begin to take their toll on Esser, making her movements sluggish and her wounds start to bleed, but giving the Ten-Wolf Gun less power to shoot. Her pliant body is rushed forward by the gun and she struggles to stay standing as it makes her retrace her steps to where Siete first found her, and then further, into an open clearing._  
  
_She falls to her knees when she hears a melody that halts her in her tracks._  
  
**Nio:** You’ve created quite a dissonant composition with us as your players.  
I miss your sweet melody, Esser, even if it was always deceptively melancholy. There was always a burning hope underneath, as if you were the sun about to rise from a long, long night.  
  
**Esser:** Nio...  
  
**Nio:** It pains me to do this, Esser. Please forgive me.  
  
_Nio readies her koto, her finger picks glinting in the moonlight. Esser feels her tired hands raise towards the shield that Nio begins generating._  
  
**Esser:** As long as you forgive me as well.  
  
**Nio:** Don’t you know? We already all have.  
All that’s left is for you to do the same for yourself.

* * *

**7B. Nio**  
_Bullet holes riddle Nio’s koto, and she cannot magically repair it fast enough to continue playing. Nio is left completely defenseless as Esser’s tired body begins to shake with the effort of the fight._  
  
**Nio:** I was hoping to play the tune within your heart, turbulent as it was, so that you may hear it.  
There’s not much else I can do.  
  
**Esser:** Why... why are you all going to such lengths to try and save me, when there would be so much less blood, so much less anger and hatred and _violence_ if even one of you had taken me down?  
None of you would have had any trouble against me without this gun, but with this body of mine, broken down and battered, you still cannot do what needs to be done?  
  
**Nio:** There are people that need your song. There are others that cry out when they hear it tainted by such a hateful composition, one they know isn’t yours.  
All players are important in an orchestra. The absence of even one rings like one’s heart has been carved out of their chest.  
  
**Esser:** I could do nothing! I stood and watched and disaster befell Stardust Town, I honed my skills to protect and disaster fell, I attempted to make the ultimate sacrifice and disaster fell!  
I have no place!  
  
**Nio:** So as long as you are alive, your melody will reverberate through the skies.  
That alone can be enough to reinvigorate. To save.

* * *

**8A. Funf**  
_Nio is physically exhausted, despite only receiving minor injuries. Funf runs up to begin to heal her, takes one look at Esser’s leg, and screams._  
  
**Ten-Wolf Gun:** What is this child?  
  
**Esser:** ...  
  
_Esser makes a move to pat Funf on the head, but both of her hands are still gripping the Ten-Wolf Gun._  
  
**Ten-Wolf Gun:** Do you know her?  
  
**Esser:** ...  
  
_Through her tears, Funf raises her arms, staff in hand, and starts trying to close the days-old bullet wound on Esser’s leg._  
  
**Funf:** Esser, I didn’t think you’d be such a meanie! Do you know how long I’ve been doing this?  
All night! And now Nio’s down! She was helping me! I can’t do anything anymore!  
  
**Ten-Wolf Gun:** I see. This is the child that continues to impede my progress.  
  
**Esser:** No.. not her. Don’t you dare!  
  
**Ten-Wolf Gun:** Allowing even complacency towards a child is what allows monsters like these to continue living. A life for what could be thousands in the future.  
  
**Esser:** She’s done nothing!  
  
_Sensing that Esser’s mind is completely in control, but her body is still under the control of the gun, Funf readies her staff._  
  
**Funf:** Let go of her!

* * *

**8B. Funf**  
_Sobbing, Esser’s exhausted body falls more and more to the gun’s whims. Funf is light on her feet, but she can’t avoid and heal every single wound she receives. She’s already tired from healing all night, and on a particularly close bullet, she screams._  
  
**Funf:** You have to stay there, Esser! We’re going to help! I know we can!  
  
**Esser:** I’m not so sure anymore, Funf...  
After the destruction I’ve wrought tonight, I don’t think there’s a place anywhere that’ll grant me the privilege of forgiveness.  
  
**Funf:** But it’s here! That place is here!  
You’ve been working so hard all night, harder than any of us could even know!

 _Funf throws her staff to the ground as Esser aims the gun at her head, a show of trust and faith as she pleads desperately._  
  
**Funf:** So please, Esser! Don’t give up!  
  
_Her finger pulls the trigger._

* * *

**9A. Quatre**  
_The gun fires, the sound echoing through the night. Sobbing inconsolably, Esser drops to her knees, barrel of the gun still smoking._  
  
**Esser:** I... I shot her...  
If there was one I should have protected with my life, it was her...  
And I shot her!  
  
_Her body is wracked with sobs, the gun suspiciously silent. Even now, when she tries to shake her hands free of it, she remains trapped._  
  
**???:** Oi.  
  
_Esser’s head shoots up, and through her blurry vision, she sees her brother, standing where Funf was. She is nowhere to be found._  
  
**Quatre:** You always were a crybaby, weren’t you?  
  
_Quatre’s voice is steady, but she can still feel the familiar warmth underneath it, calling out to her. Surprised, she lets out a wet laugh. His voice seems so casual it’s as if he was reprimanding a child from Stardust Town for not sharing something trivial._  
  
**Esser:** ...I believe that was you.  
  
**Quatre:** Ah, the joy of twins.  
  
_Slowly, Quatre takes out twin daggers, preparing to attack. Esser can’t read his face from here; it’s too dark, and tears have completely clouded her vision, but she knows he isn’t hesitating._  
  
**Esser:** Are you going to kill me, Quatre?  
  
**Quatre:** ...  
  
**Esser:** Please do. If there’s anyone that can do it, it’s you—  
  
**Quatre:** What the _fuck kind of question is that, Esser?_  
  
_Her brother’s anger is legendary, but never has she had the full brunt of it aimed at her. Startled by the sudden raise in his volume, she jumps to her feet by the Ten-Wolf Gun’s bidding; her finger pulls the trigger again, and it hits its mark, dead in Quatre’s left arm._  
  
_He screams in agony and drops the dagger in his left hand, but he keeps his stance, knuckles whiting around the remaining dagger’s handle._  
  
_Esser’s left hand loosens around the Ten-Wolf Gun, and it drops, hanging loosely at her side._  
  
**Quatre:** You son of a bitch!  
  
_Quatre charges in a straight line, screaming, dagger aimed right for the gun in her hands._

* * *

**9B. Quatre**  
_Regaining control of her left arm when her brother has lost hers, Esser fights both with and against Quatre to wrest herself free of the gun’s clutches._  
  
_But Quatre’s injury and Esser’s sluggishness makes the fight increasingly onesided as they continue, and Quatre falls over his feet when he tries to dodge a bullet._  
  
_Esser crawls over to him and gently places her free hand on his cheek, while the other holding the gun points to his temple._  
  
**Quatre:** Hey, Esser. Your hand is really warm, y’know?  
Have you been holding the gun all this time? For _days?_  
Man, some brother I am. I come in after all the action and can’t even stop you.  
  
_Quatre laughs, even as teardrops fall from Esser’s face onto his cheek._  
  
**Quatre:** And that gun’s smokin’ hot, too.  
We’ve come a long way from who we used to be, haven’t we?  
  
**Esser:** I’ve fallen for the worse, Quatre.  
Look around us. This gun has destroyed our teammates. Our friends.  
And this gun... it’ll destroy you, too.  
And when there’s nothing left, I’ll make sure I destroy myself as well.  
  
**Quatre:** Hey, see? You did it.  
As long as you realize you never stopped fighting against something you didn’t believe in, I’m game to bite it.  
...Well, not really. But you really did a number on me, you know that?  
  
_The gun is shaking against Quatre’s temple._  
  
**Esser:** How can you say that so easily?  
  
**Quatre:** How can _you?_  
  
**Esser:** You’re going to let yourself die for me?  
  
**Quatre:** One day, perhaps. You would do the same.  
I know you tried to, and it’s why the Captain thought that taking you away would be for the best.  
But no, not today, I’m not dying. Reinforcements are here.  
So just hang on a little longer, okay, Esser?

 


	3. [4th Skill] To Be Pure of Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Esser releases her hold on the Ten-Wolf Gun, after a long night of battle. She loses consciousness immediately after the Ten-Wolf Gun makes one last effort to convince her that the path she blazed tonight was not in the wrong.

**Scene 1**  
_Esser knows that someone has arrived just by the way the gun deems something that isn’t her brother a greater threat. Her right hand flies out to her side._  
  
**Quatre:** Sorry, but I’ll have to leave you in their hands.  
You put one of mine out of commission.  
  
**Esser:** Even at a time like this, you joke to try to cheer me up…  
  
**Quatre:** Of course I would. Whether you were the crybaby or I was, tears just aren’t a good look on us.  
And to top it all off, you’ve been crying about sacrificing yourself for the greater good?  
Spare me. You’re wanted just as much as you’re needed—in Stardust Town, in the Eternals, on the Grandcypher.  
  
_Quatre smiles up at Esser weakly as a new wave of tears begins to sting at her eyes. His words are soothing, but a part of her still doesn’t consider it the answer she seeks._  
  
_Standing up and walking around Quatre, Esser faces the Captain of the Grandcypher._  
  
**Esser:** I should have expected you’d finally find me, Captain.  
Will you stop me? Or will you fall as all others have in trying to save me?  
  
**Lyria:** Esser...  
  
**Esser:** I’ve caused us nothing but worry.  
The worst part is, I don’t entirely disagree with the Ten-Wolf Gun.  
For me, the assumed gunner without peer, to topple the paragons of power, before turning inwards and destroying she who had destroyed all.  
It’s a perfect plan, isn’t it?  
Thank you for trying to bring me from Stardust Town, Captain. I know you meant your best.  
But all my paths lead to this end.

* * *

 **Scene 2**  
_Finally worn down by all of the Eternals and the struggle against the Ten-Wolf Gun, Esser falls, gun releasing from her burnt hands._  
  
**Ten-Wolf Gun:** In the end, you had no determination to meet your goals.  
  
**Esser:** We may have shared goals, perhaps. But we did not share methods.  
  
**Ten-Wolf Gun:** What are means to an end? I’ve had enough here.  
  
_The blazing energy of the Ten-Wolf Gun sparks up and dissolves, and Esser hears its voice no longer. As the last of the sparks flicker out into the night, so does her consciousness, finally succumbing to a long rest._

* * *

 **Scene 3**  
_Esser wakes up in her room on the Grandcypher; around her sit her brother, Siete, and Funf, as well as the Captain, Lyria, and Vyrn._  
  
**Vyrn:** Hey, Hotshot! You really gave us a scare there!  
  
**Esser:** ...How long has it been?  
  
**Quatre:** A couple of days.  
  
_She takes in her surroundings. No one seems to be gravely injured, and she feels relief that Funf’s magic and the quick action of others meant she dealt no lasting damage._  
  
**Quatre:** ...Ah, why are you crying again, goddamnit. You kept doing it in your sleep, too.  
  
**Esser:** ...Did I?  
  
**Quatre:** Told ya you were the crybaby.  
  
_Quatre’s hand is in a cast, which is better than she could have imagined, given the circumstances. Siete also looks rather jovial for someone shot in the gut, and Funf has been crying quietly the entire time._  
  
**Funf:** What were you thinking? We were all so worried!  
  
**Esser:** I... don’t know if I was.  
At first, I was trying to save everyone from myself and the gun’s potential for harm.  
Every corner I turned, I remembered my failure to save everyone from even the most basic of hardships. The gun tried to convince me that it was worth it to topple the Eternals, to destroy our power.  
In the end... I’m not sure what I accomplished. But to know that there are people who would fight tooth and nail to bring me back from the point of no return, and to know that there are people for whom I would do the same—the world feels a little less quiet.  
  
**Lyria:** You’re important to us, Esser!  
Even though things don’t always go right when we try, it doesn’t mean we love you any less!  
  
_Moving in with a surprising speed, Lyria hooks her arms around Esser’s neck and hugs her tightly. Chuckling lightly, Quatre leans in with his good arm around her shoulder, and Vyrn and the Captain come to join the group hug._  
  
**Siete:** Room for one more? Or maybe six more. Looks like everyone else is still waiting outside to see you.  
  
**Vyrn:** Oi, hold on, does this room even have that kind of space?  
  
_Esser laughs, a rare sight. Her chest aches with the overwhelming feeling of love and support coming from everyone in the room, and she hiccups when she starts to think about all the people she almost left behind in her haste to eradicate herself._  
  
_When she finally returns to Stardust Town, everyone’s smiling faces remind her why she’s been alive, all this time; they all run in to greet her, and she feels tears begin to spring again._  
  
_And so, without a waste of breath, without doubting her importance to everyone in her life, Esser works harder than ever to reciprocate the care that everyone, for so long, had for her._

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i can’t believe vyrn’s nickname for esser is “gun girl” when hotshot is LITERALLY RIGHT THERE. she’s fire? she shoots guns?  
> this could not have been done without my lovely friend trion, who saw me starting to go off in guild chat about esser’s 5* fates and then messaged me for almost two hours straight about how we’d want to rewrite it. this fic is a complete collaboration, something i’ve wanted to do for a while, and if it weren’t for her and some other friends encouraging me it would have never gotten done.  
> hey cygames why did you give up on esser’s 5*? come here. i just wanna talk


End file.
